What is Autonomy According to the CTA?

[michaela]

Lobsang Sangay stated that the CTA would accept what Tibetans are entitled to in the Chinese Constitution as genuine autonomy as long as the Constitution is implemented. He also mentioned that Beijing is to blame for self-immolation.

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*Autonomy means China enacting it's own laws: Tibetan Pres in Australia*

Dharamshala — “What we are saying is, ‘These are the provisions in the Chinese constitution that say what Tibetans are entitled to. That’s your law. Implement that and we’ll take that as autonomy,’ said the democratically elected President, Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, during his visit to Australia where he is meeting with the International Commission of Jurists.

“Essentially, what we’re saying is that if the Chinese government implemented their own laws, we would [accept them] as genuine autonomy.

“The Middle Way Approach has a document called the Memorandum of Genuine Autonomy. Essentially the document is based on Article 4 of the Chinese constitution and Article 12 of the Minority Nationality Act, which grants autonomous arrangement for minorities in general and Tibetans as well.

“What we are saying is, ‘These are the provisions in the Chinese constitution that say what Tibetans are entitled to. That’s your law. Implement that and we’ll take that as autonomy’,” he said.

“From 2002 to 2010, envoys of the Dalai Lama, our representatives, did meet with Chinese government representatives and they had nine rounds of dialogues. So all is not lost,” the President said.

“The Chinese did talk to us, but there was no breakthrough. What we hope is that [if] the Chinese president Xi Jinping wants to solve the issue of Tibet and leave a major legacy in the world, then he will see Tibet is a low-hanging fruit.”

The President referenced a number of reports published by the ICJ about the situation in Tibet from as early as the 1960s. China invaded Tibet in 1950 and the Dalai Lama, with some other 80,000 Tibetan refugees, subsequently fled from the country in 1959, including his own parents.

“The International Commission of Jurists published two reports in the 1960s, and then another report in 1998 of which I was part of... The ICJ concluded that Tibet was an independent country and a de facto independent from 1911 to 1951 when Tibet was occupied by China. The report made the case that Tibet was independent because historically it was, according to the definition of a state having a population and government and territory and sovereignty,” he said.

Going on to discuss the suffering of Tibetans presently living under occupation and the oppression they face, he added, “Just this year, four Tibetans burnt themselves inside Tibet and, recently, two Tibetans in exile.”

“Even though we discourage self-immolation – and we have categorically and consistently discouraged self-immolation – it continues even today. The blame of self-immolation lies with Beijing, that’s what we say,” he said.

“The provision of Chinese law on language says that not only should Tibetan language be used, but it should be encouraged, and bilingual education should be used. These are [China’s] own laws and what we are saying is ‘Let us use our own language’. But at the moment in Tibetan primary, middle and high school, the curriculum instruction is Chinese,” he said.

“This is where the ICJ report alleges cultural genocide taking place in Tibet because they want to wipe out Tibetan culture, Tibetan language and Tibetan identity.”

The Sikyong concluded with a call for supporters in Australia to support Tibetans, noting the support of the United States under the previous administration, saying, “Barack Obama did not see a conflict between One China and the Middle Way Approach. Hopefully, the Australian government will also support the same proposal."

“I think more governments, intellectuals, activists and supporters can raise this issue and put a bit of pressure on the Chinese government to support the win-win proposition of the Middle Way Approach. We are worth your friendship because the resilience and the determination and the hardworking nature of the Tibetan people is to be seen.”

The Sikyong will be in Australia until next week.

http://www.thetibetpost.com/en/news/international/5668-we-want-what-is-entitled-to-us-in-chinese-constitution-tibetan-president

[michaela]

Only several days ago Lobsang Sangay defined the type of autonomy that he would accept from China. And now there is a protest asking for Tibetan independence by the Tibetan refugees in India. Does Lobsang Sangay have control over his subjects - the Tibetan refugees in exile? If not, why should he speak on behalf of the Tibetans refugees?

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Protest rally backing India calls for end to 68-year occupation of Tibet

New Delhi — Over 150 Tibetans and Tibet supporters gathered at Jantar Mantar of New Delhi Friday to protest against China's illegal occupation of Tibet and highlight the fact that Tibet's Independence is India's Security.

Tibetan Youth Congress, the largest Tibetan NGO in exile, organised the protest rally at Jantar Mantar of New Delhi Friday, August 11, 2017, to raise the awareness about China's occupation of Tibet and saying the current standoff between the India and China in the Droklam region reinforces the fact that "India's security lies in an Independent Tibet."

A Chinese diplomat Wang Wenli recently claimed that Bhutan had conveyed to China through diplomatic channels that the area of the standoff is not its territory. In response, Bhutan refuted Chinese government claims about Thimphu telling Beijing that the trilateral border stand-off area in Doklam is not Bhutan's territory.

According to media reports Bhutan had made its position very clear on the issue of Doklam border and urged everyone to refer their statement which has been published on the Bhutan's foreign ministry website on June 29, 2017.

Bhutan has no direct diplomatic relations with China and maintains contacts with Beijing through its diplomatic mission in New Delhi. Bhutan and China have held 24 rounds of talks to resolve boundary dispute, while India and China have completed 19 rounds of talks.

"TYC protest received unprecedented coverage from major international and national media outlets including The New York Times, Washington Post, ABC News, Fox News, Yahoo News and more," TYC President Tenzin Jigme said following their rally, adding: "This is just a small step though."

"Tibet has historically been an independent sovereign nation until the illegal invasion and occupation in 1949. India and China, having never shared a common border in history, was brought face to face for the first time when Mao's marauding forces ravaged the Tibetan plateau and annihilated the buffer that has for centuries fostered peace and amity across the Himalayas," the TYC said in a statement.

The statement continued, "Since then, India and China, two nuclear powers and giants of Asia, have had treacherous eyeball to eyeball confrontations over the decades with the ghosts of the brief yet bloody 1962 war looming large over them. The current standoff between the two countries in the Droklam region which has historically been a part of Tibet, reinforces the fact that India's security lies in an Independent Tibet."

"Historians concur that a part of the Droklam plateau was granted to Bhutan by His Holiness the Great 13th Dalai Lama in 1913. China's expansionist policies and its global ambitions are clearly spelled out in the hostile and callous manner in which they have responded to the ongoing crisis in Droklam. China has played the victim card, led an international diplomatic assault to portray India as the aggressor while sending out not so subtle threats to India," the statement read.

The TYC added that "China has shown no remorse in siding with nations and groups who vehemently oppose India. They have plotted to contain India militarily and limit India's global outreach by blocking India's entry into NSG and obstructing India's candidature as a permanent member of the UN Security Council."

Beyond the strategic vantage point that Tibet holds looking over south Asia, China also controls the mighty rivers that flow down from the plateau which support and sustain livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people living downstream. TYC President Jigme states that, "it is in India's interest that Delhi officially recognizes Tibet as an illegally occupied nation and leads a regional coalition to pressure China on its dismal human rights record and increasingly aggressive geopolitical presages".

"Mao Zedong described Tibet as the palm and Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh as the 'five fingers'. China under the helmsmanship of President Xi Jinping seems eager to wrench the fingers close and form a fist to exert power over the entire region," the TYC's statement further stressed.

From 1958 to 1976, the so called "Great Leap Forward" and "Cultural Revolution" policy of dictator Mao Zedong's communist regime led to the deaths of up to 65-78 million people, including 1.3 million people of Tibet – easily making it the biggest episode of mass murder ever recorded, in the history of the world.

What comes out of this massive and detailed dossier is a tale of horror and genocide in which dictator Mao emerges as one of the greatest mass murderers in history, responsible for the deaths of at least 65 million people during the ten years of Cultural Revolution between 1966 and 1976 that brought chaos and bloodshed in China, Tibet, Mongolia, Manchuria and Eastern Turkistan.

From Mao to Xi Jinping, one after another, the Chinese communist dictators to totalitarians have taken full control over the lives of their own citizens and other nationalists. Today, China is more brutal and inhumane than any other communist regime in the world. The beginning of the 21st century continues to be a time of genocide and violence against the people of Tibet.

http://www.thetibetpost.com/en/news/exile/5678-protest-rally-backing-india-calls-for-end-to-68-year-occupation-of-tibet

[Celia]

Only several days ago Lobsang Sangay defined the type of autonomy that he would accept from China. And now there is a protest asking for Tibetan independence by the Tibetan refugees in India. Does Lobsang Sangay have control over his subjects - the Tibetan refugees in exile? If not, why should he speak on behalf of the Tibetans refugees?

Despite the hype about his Harvard qualifications which misleadingly gave the impression of some level of leadership skills, to call Lobsang Sangay’s leadership (or lack of) as disappointing is truly an understatement.

So, it is hardly surprising that he doesn’t have the control of Tibetans since he can’t even get his own officials to toe the line. How else to explain the recent incident of several CTA officials glaringly supporting Rangzen which is not only against CTA’s official stance but also against Dalai Lama’s wishes. To make things worse, apparently, the lavish expenditures for the overseas attendance to the Rangzen event were all coming from funds meant for the welfare of Tibetans in exile.

And that is not yet even going into Lobsang Sangay’s contradictory executive decisions pertaining to the Tibetan cause, or anything relating to the welfare of Tibetans for that matter. In short;
(i)   At best, he akin to a bumbling idiot who doesn’t know what he is doing despite representing to all that he is capable of leading and fighting for Tibetans.
(ii)   At worst, he is more of a heartless opportunist who despicably perpetuates the sordid conditions of his fellow Tibetans in order to enrich himself (and his cronies) with their pain and suffering.

Seriously, why is there still support for Lobsang Sangay or CTA?

[grandmapele]

However Sikyong Lobsang Sangay may define Autonomy, does not take away the fact that there are certain quarters who are not on the bandwagon. They are calling for full independence still. So, if the Tibetans themselves cannot agree on what they want, how on earth are they going to come up with terms of negotiation with China IF they are able to get China to the dialogue table.

I doubt they should go round shouting lack of Human Rights for Tibetans in Tibet when they themselves are dividing their own lot in exile by having a ban on the practice of Dorje Shugden. The Dorje Shugden practitioners have been expelled from the their monasteries and forced to start their own monasteries from scratch. They who are in exile in India are not in exile in another monastery.

There are still hardliners who blindly verbally abuse the practitioners to the point of threatening violence. They seem to have forgotten that karma is always there watching. They are so distracted by the noise created by the CTA that they have no time to look and assess the situation critically or is that the result of the lack of education plotted by the CTA?

[vajrastorm]

“What we are saying is, ‘These are the provisions in the Chinese constitution that say what Tibetans are entitled to. That’s your law. Implement that and we’ll take that as autonomy,’ said Sikyong Lobsang Sangay. Autonomy, as defined above by Lobsang Sangay, leaves one more bewildered and confused.

It doesn't help when he goes on to talk about other issues like self immolation and blames the Chinese for that,and about previous attempts at negotiations with the Chinese and ends with a lame comment that "all is not lost".

How about seeing how China enforces autonomy in places like Hongkong, CTA? That's more realistic as a model of autonomy.

[grandmapele]

@vajrastorm, yes, yes, yes.How about Hong Kong? How did they do it. They are an autonomous region of China. How about Sikyong Lobsang Sangay have a look at that> hold on, does he even know about or of Hong Kong?

[dsnowlion]

“What we are saying is, ‘These are the provisions in the Chinese constitution that say what Tibetans are entitled to. That’s your law. Implement that and we’ll take that as autonomy,’ said Sikyong Lobsang Sangay. Autonomy, as defined above by Lobsang Sangay, leaves one more bewildered and confused.

It doesn't help when he goes on to talk about other issues like self immolation and blames the Chinese for that,and about previous attempts at negotiations with the Chinese and ends with a lame comment that "all is not lost".

How about seeing how China enforces autonomy in places like Hongkong, CTA? That's more realistic as a model of autonomy.

Very true... he wishes for autonomy and in the same breath blames China for self-immolation. Actually, he is covering the fact that CTA has failed and that is why they are nowhere near autonomy and that is why the Tibetans are getting fed up, keep at it and there is no chance HH the Dalai Lama will return. Such a hypocrite. Actually he as the Sikyong/President is to blame for not stopping them and for even having statue of these immolators... that's really sad. They never think about these victim... the family members of the immolators.

[Celia]

Judging from CTA’s actions to date, autonomy to CTA is just another issue which they use to further their personal gains. Why else would CTA until now continuously create a lot of confusion as to the issue. CTA just throws in statements which quite frankly offers no coherent explanation of CTA’s demands and game plan to move forward on this issue. In fact, to say CTA’s official statements releases on this issue is vague is a gross understatement.

The confusion is further compounded by CTA conflicting actions where CTA despite requiring China’s co-operation to further negotiations, CTA constantly bad mouth and attacks China. Talk about self-sabotaging actions.

But it makes sense for CTA to not make sense to China and the world at large. It is only through confusion which CTA can continue to capitalise on the situation and enrich themselves at the expense of the pain and suffering of Tibetans in exile.

[Celia]

Judging from CTA’s actions to date, autonomy to CTA is just another issue which they use to further their personal gains. Why else would CTA until now continuously create a lot of confusion as to the issue. CTA just throws in statements which quite frankly offers no coherent explanation of CTA’s demands and game plan to move forward on this issue. In fact, to say CTA’s official statements releases on this issue is vague is a gross understatement.

The confusion is further compounded by CTA conflicting actions where CTA despite requiring China’s co-operation to further negotiations, CTA constantly bad mouth and attacks China. Talk about self-sabotaging actions.

But it makes sense for CTA to not make sense to China and the world at large. It is only through confusion which CTA can continue to capitalise on the situation and enrich themselves at the expense of the pain and suffering of Tibetans in exile.

Of course, in case there are CTA sympathizers who still want to play the CTA is disadvantaged and inexperience card (and hence CTA’s confusing action) SERIOUSLY if after decades, CTA still can’t figure out this core issue, then CTA has no business continuing to be in office.

Especially since CTA was elected due to such primary promise. More than fair enough grounds to state that this another one of CTA ‘s repeated empty and hollow promises as evident from CTA’s antics thusfar, particularly where CTA kept steadfastly deliver ZERO results to Tibetans and constantly screw exiled Tibetans up for CTA’s personal gains.